Two Broken Boys
by dancingpen808
Summary: This is the story of two boys who are broken. This can never end well, but you already know how it ends. I'm just here to tell you everything else.
1. Chapter 1: A Lonely Little Boy

It started in September with a lonely little boy in a lonely little compartment on a train filled with people. He hadn't even bothered to ask to sit with anyone, but could you blame him? Remus had been an outsider his whole life.

Growing up a werewolf isn't easy, let me tell you that. And Remus Lupin-who had always been a little bit smaller than everyone else, whose thin brown hair had never been quite the right color to be fetching, whose introverted nature had been cute when he was smaller but now was a bit concerning- had a harder time then most pre-pubescent lycanthropes, if that was possible.

The trouble was, Remus really was a nice bloke. He was plenty intelligent, if serious at times, but he still loved talking to people- but people never seemed to want to talk to him.

So when the door to that lonely little compartment rattled open one hot September 1st, it would be safe to say Remus was surprised.

In sauntered three boys- one was tall and shockingly good-looking, who carried himself like a king, slouching but somehow at the same time keeping his nose high in the air. The next wore a sly grin proudly on his face, dark hair sticking up in the back and slightly crooked glasses that rested idly on his nose. The third was a surprise, though. He was squat and chubby in an endearing kind of way and had a touch of eagerness in his step that betrayed the fact that he had spent his whole life running after people who were "better" than him, as he was doing now. Remus's eyes widened as he regarded the new stranger, whom he recognized as one of his own- a pariah. But what was one of them doing with boys like the other two?

"Is it alright if we sit here, mate?" the second boy drawled in a northern accent. Remus tore his gaze away from the smaller boy and turned instead to the one who had spoken, pausing for an awkward second too long.

"Oh yeah, of course," he said, rushing to move his bags from the seats around him. The trio slumped into the now-vacated spots. The one who had spoken nodded in greeting.

"I'm James. Nice to meet you."

"Remus."

"And I'm Peter," the short one offered in single hushed breath. Remus smiled back at him, and then turned expectantly to the third boy who was now staring out the train window. Upon realizing that he wasn't about to say something, James nudged the boy sharply in the ribs. He turned his head slowly, eyebrows raised in what was almost a challenge.

"Sirius. Sirius Black." Remus felt like bursting out laughing at the pure drama that lingered to every syllable as it tumbled out of Sirius' mouth but upon catching another glance at the boy's threatening, stormy grey eyes, thought better of it.

"Right, nice to meet you," He said brightly. James rolled his eyes and mouthed 'sorry' with an apologetic grin, and Remus waved it off with a slight smile. A little nervous bubble formed in the pit of his stomach as he looked around at the boys sitting near him. Here was his chance at friends. He couldn't mess this up.


	2. Chapter 2: Awkward Silence

The train ride had been awkward at first. It seemed that the three boys had known each other years prior to meeting on the train. At least that explained why Peter was hanging around with the other two, Remus reasoned. But soon that would change. New school, new people, new friends. When the only thing binding a friendship together was the fact that it had existed for so long, it was bound to fall apart. Remus had been burned by that cruel fact before.

James and Peter had initiated polite small talk with him for a couple of miles, but it soon was clear they weren't really interested in being friends. And Sirius- well Sirius had barely said three sentences, choosing instead to brood silently out the window the entire ride, his long hair draping over the sharp planes of his face. The four of them sat uncomfortably for a second until Peter spoke again.

"So, Remus, what do you like to do?" Peter asked.

"Loads of stuff, I guess. I really like reading-" at this point Remus was cut off with a derisive snort from the form sprawled dramatically against the window, but continued after a disconcerted glance in that direction.

"-and music. Bands like Led Zeppelin, Blondie, you know?" Sirius once again cut him off.

"_You_ listen to Zeppelin?" he asked in pure disbelief, a strange grin on his face. He was leaning forward now, his fingers met in a temple as he rested his arms atop his open legs. Remus was confused.

"Yes…?" it trailed off into a question. Sirius let out what could only be described as a bark of laughter then leaned against the wall of the train again. But this time he turned his head towards Remus and watched him intently. Only slightly perturbed, Remus turned back to the other two.

"What house do you reckon you'll be in, Remus?" The question came from James, who was now leaning against the back wall of the train, a bored net cast over his face.

"Oh, I don't really know. I really like school, so maybe Ravenclaw." James let out a disinterested nod and turned towards Sirius. He had seemed so friendly when the two had first met, but now he reminded Remus of a cat who bores of the mouse its been chasing in favor of more difficult game.

Sirius glanced back over at James and the two of them held each other's gazes for a second, seeming to communicate some secret message to one another. Abruptly they broke off and Sirius looked back out the window.

Remus looked in confusion at Peter, wondering if he'd noticed, but the smaller boy was staring at the train door, the melancholy expression of a boy whom had seen this exclusive conversation happen several times too many written on his face. So Peter was friends with the two, but the three of them weren't close. Sirius and James had a select bond, just as Remus had suspected.

The foursome was saved the trouble of another uneasy quiet spell as the rattle of the trolley cart grew louder and the door was pushed open.

"Anything from the trolley, dears?" Remus scanned the smorgasbord of familiar candies but nothing really struck his fancy.

"Do you have any chocolate?" He inquired.

"Sure," she answered with a quick smile, deftly pressing the bar into his palm with one hand and snatching the sickles out of his hand with another. She looked around expectantly at the other boys. James and Peter both bought chocolate frogs, but Sirius simply shook his head in dismissal at the witch, though he wore a slightly flirtatious smile as he did so. Remus inwardly rolled his eyes. So he was one of those.

Soon the door snapped shut, the cart rattled off and the only sound that filled the carriage was the rattle of the trains wheels on the track and the noisy sound of eating as James and Peter finished off their chocolate frogs and compared cards. Remus was looking at Sirius, who was watching the other two with an amused expression on his face until he noticed Remus' gaze, upon which he dropped back into a scowl and turned back out the window.

It wasn't long before James stood abruptly and stretched.

"I think I'm going to take a look around the train. Anyone fancy coming with?" He looked around at the other boys.

"I'll go!" Peter volunteered eagerly.

"Sounds great…" James trailed off, looking at Sirius.

"I'll pass. Have fun, mates," Sirius said with more warmth than Remus had heard him use the entire time he'd known him. James turned to Remus as a last resort, the unspoken question of desperation on his face. Remus shook his head, and James turned to look at Peter.

"Right then, guess it's just you and me," he said. Peter smiled brightly back at him and the two left the compartment. Sirius watched the door shut behind them, then turned silently back to the window he had been contemplating for nearly the whole ride.

Remus reached for the candy he had brought, the plastic wrapper wrinkling loudly under his fingers as he unwrapped it.

"D'you want some chocolate?" he asked, presenting the bar to Sirius. The other boy looked up in surprise for a second, and studied Remus' face for a moment, as if wondering whether to trust him or not.

"Yeah, I would, actually," he said, leaning forward and breaking off a self-entitled half. Remus tucked the rest of the chocolate back into his bag and looked back at Sirius, who had already managed to finish his half.

"So what about you?" Remus queried. "What house do you think you'll end up in?" A dark shadow crossed Sirius' face and he sank back into his seat, as if shying away from Remus. When he looked up, his expression was guarded and one eyebrow was raised challengingly.

"I'd like to be a Gryffindor," he said carefully, still watching Remus' reaction.

"Right then," Remus responded, bemused as to why that was such a big deal. More silence. Then,

"So you really listen to Zeppelin, huh?" Sirius asked with another laugh.

"Yeah," Remus answered, laughing with him. "Why is that such a surprise?"

"I don't know," Sirius paused for a moment, studying Remus thoughtfully. "You don't seem the type." Remus held his gaze for a moment and opened his mouth to say something when the train door slid open and James and Peter came back in.

"You might want to change into robes, Remus " James said, slumping down into an empty seat. We're almost here."


	3. Chapter 3:I Think I'm Gonna Like It Here

Chapter 3: I Think I'm Gonna Like It Here

It wasn't sudden, but Remus had begun to smile more. After their brief meeting on the train, James and Peter had seemed to consider Remus one of their own, saving him the awkward choice of where to sit at dinner and who to talk to during classes. Even Sirius had warmed a little. The boy still regarded Remus with that sad, stormy gaze but when Remus would take out a book at the dinner table or excuse himself from whatever they were doing to go and study, he seemed to give off an aura almost of exasperated fondness, instead of the irritation Remus had expected from him.

But a part of Remus suspected that Sirius and James only kept him around as a distraction for Peter. For whatever reason, the two of them seemed to feel some sort of obligation towards him, almost to protect him. But not in the way of a mother or someone who cares, instead with the faint annoyance of an elder brother that gets stuck chauffeuring his sibling around town.

So it was that the four of them settled into an easy routine in their first few days of Hogwarts. It was made easier by the fact that they all shared a dorm together, with another first year who for some reason never seemed to be present.

The only thing Remus found slightly off-putting about his new group of friends was how little they seemed to care about school. Peter was simply not that intelligent, he reasoned to himself. But James and Sirius were bright-they had plenty of potential and he had seen what they could do. He just couldn't understand why they didn't try.

It often amounted in late nights and drooping eyebrows, midnight study sessions in which Remus would attempt to re-teach the entire class to James and Sirius hours before the test would arrive. And the amount of essays he'd written for the two of them, even in just the first few weeks of school had to be some new record for "nerd taken most advantage of."

But on the whole he didn't mind helping them with their schoolwork (or, to be more accurate, he didn't mind _them _occasionally helping _him _with _their_ schoolwork). With the three boys, Remus had found something he had never thought possible—a group of friends that truly liked him, ones that pretended to look interested when he lectured them on 18th century literature and didn't ask too many questions when he got mysteriously called away to the nurses' office every month.

So as the last lingering traces of summer wore away and bright oranges and reds seemed to paint over them, Remus felt a strange sense of contentment settle in his stomach. He was happy here.


	4. Chapter 4: December

It wasn't until December that the warm solid feeling in Remus' stomach started to slip, as did everything else in his life. And, as was becoming the norm at his new school, it was all because of Sirius.

Everything begun to fall apart one seemingly harmless morning at breakfast, as owls swooped in between the rafters and dropped thick parcels, ink-leaden news papers and thin envelopes into expectant laps (and the occasional jug of orange juice). None of the boys got mail on a regular basis except for James, and sometimes Remus. Peter's parents were apparently quite wealthy and always vacationing on some exotic island, and all that would come in the mail for him seemed to be a glossy moving postcard and a hastily scrawled "Wish You Were Here!" on the back.

But Sirius never got mail at breakfast. Until one morning he did.

The letter dropped heavily into his lap and he glanced around the table as if waiting for someone else to lay claim to it until his eye caught on a heavily embossed seal on the corner and his surprised expression dropped into a scowl faster than Remus would have thought possible. It didn't take long for Sirius to unceremoniously shove the rest of his toast in his mouth, sling his book bag over his shoulder and stalk out of the Great Hall, his knuckles clenched so tightly around the crisp paper envelope in his hand that it bowed inwards and wrinkles splayed like whiskers across the surface.

There was a hesitant pause for a second at the table, where all three boys watched Sirius' retreating back exit the room and then another pause as they all turned to their plates, not quite sure what to say. And then James was standing up and grabbing his bag with far more composure than Sirius had exhibited and striding quickly in the direction his friend had gone.

That left only Remus and Peter at the table, clearing their throats intermittently and chewing too loudly to be normal.

"What do you reckon that was about?" Remus asked, all at once breaking the lull. Peter answered a little too quickly and it became clear he had been turning the matter over in his mind.

"Did you see that crest?" he asked, his bulbous eyes wide and his fingers twitching oddly. Remus nodded.

"That was his family crest," Peter finished with an odd air of finality, as if that ought to clear everything up.

"And…?" Remus prompted him.

"Oh, right, I'd forgotten you don't know yet," Peter continued, a smug glint in his eye. Remus very much doubted he'd forgotten.

"Know what yet?" Remus interjected, trying and failing to keep exasperation from tingeing his voice.

"Let's just say Sirius and his dear old parents don't have the best of relationships." The tone Peter was going for was sympathetic, but it turned out horribly gleeful, and Remus got the distinct impression that Peter was delighted to have this piece of gossip to share with him.

After a simple "oh," Remus found he had nothing more to say and returned to his breakfast, determinedly slogging through the remainder on his plate, and then making a beeline for History of Magic, not bothering to wait for Peter.

Neither James nor Sirius turned up for the class, and Remus didn't see either of them until after Care of Magical creatures had ended and he was trudging back to Gryffindor common room, nursing a burn from a Blast-Ended Skrewt. On the way he'd mentally prepared himself for a long series of brooding glares and sharp comments from Sirius. He had not, however, anticipated finding James and Sirius sprawled out in front of the fireplace, eyes shining and oddly devious grins on their faces as they crouched before a series of faded blueprints fanned out before them.


End file.
